Orlando Pirates legend Edward “Magents” Motale feels Relebohile Mofokeng needs guidance if he is to become one of the best players in the country.
The 21-year-old winger hasn’t had the best of a season, only managing one goal and two assists across all competitions.
Magents said the youngster needed guidance so he could return to his best.
“Look, football is so funny. That is why that coach said football can kill you, real death, you understand. Yeah, I don’t think if I were his parent or agent or whoever, I think he’s still under parental guidance. I’ll take the boy, sit him down and say, ‘Look, that’s football’,” Motale told Soccer Laduma.
Rele Mofokeng struggling for form at Pirates
“Football is come and go. We play for Pirates. People, they didn’t understand when we left Pirates. You understand? Because they enjoy our stay, they enjoy our play,” the Pirates legend added.
Motale believes Mofokeng is a better player than Mohau Nkota, even though the ex-Pirates star left before Rele.
“So, what I’m trying to say is, these young boys, we all know that Rele was far better than them, the likes of Mohau Nkota, but Nkota is gone. That’s because of certain qualities and certain luck. You understand?”
He said that Mofokeng’s physical and mental strength will negatively affect his performance if he’s not properly managed.
“So, he (Rele) must just calm down, like I said. If I was a parent, I was going to sit the boy down and say, ‘Look, boy, in football, it’s like that. You win, you lose, you draw,” Motale added.
Mofokeng has been at Pirates for three years
“But work hard; you’re still young, and you still have more years that you can still go abroad. So, you should not give up.”
“What I’m trying to say, in one way, is that somebody must make him mentally strong. Whether it’s the parents or the agent, they must just make him mentally strong. That’s all. Otherwise, if they don’t attend to that, we’re going to lose the boy. You know, mentally and physically so,” Motale added.